


Neon Glow Nobility

by shyserious



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Class Differences, Futuristic, Knights - Freeform, Loneliness, M/M, Nobility, Please read the notes before reading, Romance, Royalty, Science Fiction, WIP, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 05:22:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12976911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyserious/pseuds/shyserious
Summary: "The guard took the thin transparent card Harry was offering and tapped the center of it to turn the display on. The card chimed, soft and short, and the screen spilled harsh light that made the guard’s face look hollow and odd-angled. The unnatural white glow of it matched the small lights blinking along the barrel of the guard’s gun.“Hm.” The man nodded, eyes scanning over the text before focusing on the image. The picture-Harry blinked tiredly and turned to show his side profile. The guard nodded again. “A server, eh?”"-Or: Harry works as a server in the court, catering to the Royalty and the Nobility staying in the castle. He's trying to make it through each day, just barely earning enough to be able to send a few coins to his mother who's living in the country.There's a raw longing living inside his chest and the city's neon lights burn his eyes even when they're closed.(Modern meets Historical meets Futuristic. WIP.)





	Neon Glow Nobility

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!  
> To be completely honest now, I have no idea what this is and I don't know if it is going to be anything at all.  
> But. I have been playing around with this idea of a Modern but Historical/18th century-ish but Futuristic world-set and I ended up trying it out. I'm going to make it clear here that this is the only thing I have written so far for this (WIP warning!) and I'm not completely sure where I want to go with this or if I will continue writing at all(!!). Even the title is still under consideration. 
> 
> Still, I figured I'd post this first part to see if there's any interest for a second chapter. 
> 
> \- This is un-beta'd and English is not my first language, WIP (please keep this in mind if you start reading!), and I'm mostly here to somehow force myself out of a writers block. Please do not repost, translate, or add on other sites. / Disclaimer: None of this is real nor does this reflect anything or anyone in real life. -
> 
> Thank you xx

The bedroom floor was cold against Harry’s bare feet and he had to grit his teeth together to resist the temptation of rolling back under the warm duvets. The air was chilly too, the insulation of the bedroom doing next to nothing to keep the warmth in.

Harry kept calling it a ‘bedroom’ although in reality it was all of the rooms. Kitchen, living room, dining room and bedroom, all crammed together into a teeny-tiny living space. Well, at least the bathroom had its own room with a lockable door. The fact that the shower was too small for Harry to properly fit under or that he kept painfully knocking into the walls while he was brushing his teeth were just minor details.

His little flat was shitty, alright? But at least he had one. He was one of the luckier ones.

With a huffing breath Harry glanced at the clock he had propped against the kitchen counter. It was four in the morning and everything was still dark and quiet. The electricity would only be turned back on later in the morning, so the only light he had was the dim glow of the cloud covered moon pushing through the curtains. The flickering firelight from the lampposts on the street level didn’t reach anywhere near Harry’s flat, inhabiting the twenty seventh floor made sure of that.

Sure, it was crap to go through his morning routine in the dark and yeah, it was a pain to walk down all the twenty seven floors every morning because the elevators didn’t work before the electricity was on. However, what wasn’t crap was the fact that living on the upper floors meant that it was less likely for Harry to end up robbed. No smashed in windows and no waking up in the middle of the night to find yourself being robbed at knifepoint. Or just ending up dead. For whatever reason.

So yeah. Twenty seventh floor had its perks.

Maybe someday Harry would come across a super villain who would be able to climb the walls and break into his flat to steal his valuables (his kettle was pretty nice to be honest), but he really hoped that day wasn’t today. Today he still had to brush his teeth, put his clothes on, and make his way through the gritty suburb before he ended up being late.

Outside the wind was sharp and unyielding and with a shiver Harry tugged his scarf on top the mask covering his mouth and nose. He could always pretend that the scarf gave him an extra layer of protection against all the dust and dirt in the air, but the pollution of the city was thick enough to make everything foggy. Harry didn’t have anything to wear on his hands but his jacket pockets were warm enough. Who knew, maybe the next paycheck would allow him to send a few coins to his mum _and_ get something nice for himself.

Probably not, though. Yeah... Probably not.

It was okay. At least he had his shitty flat and his job gave him two meals out of the three he had in a day. He was able to support his mum who was living in the country and he wasn’t living on the streets. This was good. Better than good.

Harry kept reminding himself of that as the wind blew dust into his eyes. He kept walking.

All the areas near the castle fell under the protection of the Crown. It didn’t mean it was _safe_ there though. No, it just meant that if an enemy nation was to attack, those areas inside the castle’s borders would be protected by the Army and the Royal Guards. So, a normal night like this? Definitely not the best time to find yourself wandering the streets alone. Too bad Harry had to do it every single day, except for every other weekend when he had his days off.       

The area Harry lived in was mostly just dusty, rusty blocks of flats. Tall buildings surrounded by numerous others, crammed too close together. Everything was dark and untidy, spray paint murals on the walls and flyers and trash fluttering around in the wind. The fires on the street lamps were dull and barely just enough to show Harry that he was going towards the right direction. The glowing blue neon lights only turned on when the electricity returned to the city.

The closer to the castle Harry got the brighter the streets got as well.

The lampposts were newer, more decorative, flames bigger and brighter. The castle itself was old, hundreds of years, but it was in pristine condition, insulated and updated with the technology to keep it heated and filled to the prim with the modern luxuries. The buildings and streets surrounding it, the ones in the closest proximity, were fancy and expensive as well. Usually it was the rich, the noble, and the royalty, local and visiting, staying in those areas. The castle was massive, stories upon stories, and stairways and towers and lavish rooms all over. It arose and loomed over the city from the very heart of it, protected by the city walls and the buildings and the people. It was beautiful, like out of a fairytale.

It was a whole other world.

Harry pushed his hair away from his face as he turned from one street to another and he instantly spotted the guard standing next to a decorative mailbox. The street's flickering firelight made the uniform the man was wearing look more orange rather than the royal red that it was. Unfortunately that didn’t make the guard, or his heavy-duty firearm, any less intimidating.

“Oi!” the man called, noticing Harry before he was properly even out of the shadows. “What’s your business here, lad? It’s the middle of the night.”

Harry sighed internally, pulling his scarf and mask down to show his face. Some nights he was lucky and he only had to stop by the official security when nearing the castle, but clearly tonight wasn’t one of those times. Harry walked across the street and stopped once he was close enough for the streetlight to illuminate him as well.     

“Just heading to work, Sir,” Harry answered and bowed his head politely. The guard’s tall boots were as shiny as the buttons on his jacket.

“ID?” the man asked promptly, one hand leaving the gun to reach toward Harry expectantly. His other hand stayed on the black surface of the firearm, tightly holding on, and one finger ready to move to the trigger in a heartbeat. Harry had seen it happen before.   

Harry lifted his head from the respectful bow and tugged his identification out. He kept it safe in the inside pocket of his jacket, snug against his chest where he could feel it and where it was safe in the case someone tried to pickpocket him on the streets. Well. _Safer_.

The guard took the thin transparent card Harry was offering and tapped the center of it to turn the display on. The card chimed, soft and short, and the screen spilled harsh light that made the guard’s face look hollow and odd-angled. The unnatural white glow matched the small lights blinking along the barrel of the guard’s gun.

The man squinted against the light, tapped again, and then, accompanied with another short chime, Harry could make out his own face appearing on the card. His information filled onto the screen, rolling in letter by letter until the space next to his image was filled.

“Hm.” The man nodded, eyes scanning over the text before focusing on the image. The picture-Harry blinked tiredly and turned to show his side profile. The guard nodded again. “A server, eh?”

“Yes, Sir,” Harry confirmed. He bowed his head when the ID was offered back, the card already turned off and the surface of it back to see-through. “Thank you, Sir.”

“Off you go then.”

The guard’s tone was dismissive and the hand returning to hold onto the rifle was practised and steady. On his left sleeve an inconspicuous pin-radio hissed out a soft buzz of white noise.     

Harry bowed again, deeper, and then pulled his coat tighter around his torso as he turned to continue towards the main road. The pollution mask was cold against his skin when he tugged it back in place.    

The Royal Guards weren’t to be taken lightly, or someone to kid with. Most of them were overly cautious and a bit too trigger-happy and, well... They had all the reasons to be. They were often targeted and standing in the very first lines if something was going to go down in the streets or in the midst of an attack.

Harry was used to dealing with them, usually having to stop at least once on his way to the castle’s security. It was alright, most of the time. Harry knew they were just doing their job, protecting the grounds and the people.

It still didn’t make him feel any better being surrounded by all the firearms and such.

Once Harry reached the first main gates of the castle everything was usually faster from there on. The guards were more familiar; the same men often working throughout the whole week and actually greeting Harry, rather than just demanding things. He only had to flash his ID card, stand still in a scanner where a red stripe-light ran over his body, and then, occasionally, he had to wait as the patrol dogs sniffed him over. The dogs weren’t even there every night, only if the K9 handling guards happened to be done with their hourly route.

Tonight the K9 team had been nowhere to be seen and Harry had crossed the courtyard in no time. He had to stop for another ID check by the doors and then use his card to actually get inside the castle, but that was just routine by now. The nights were always packed full with the heavier security the closer to the castle it got and sure, it took time to get there, but the early morning shift's paycheck was worth it too.

So, Harry wasn’t going to complain. Even if it meant that he had to wake up half an hour earlier to make it in time.                        

  
The kitchen was underground, tucked hidden into one of the oldest corners of the lavish establishment. The hallway leading there was pristine and echoing, the walls symmetrically decorated with bright electric lights. Electricity was always working in the castle and everything was clean and simple, the wealth of the place tangible even underground.

With a sigh Harry tugged his scarf off, leaving it hanging of off his shoulder and the mask around his neck. He pushed his curls out of his eyes and pressed his ID against yet another scanner. The green light flashed, the card chimed, and the door swooshed to the side.   

Harry hanged his things in the locker with his name tag on the door and pulled out the familiar white apron. It did nothing to keep him warm but it was the symbol of his position. The symbol of his fortune and luck; of his paycheck.

It was cold in the kitchens during the winter but it was okay because they took turns working next to the ovens. And when the summer turned everything heavy and humid with warmth and it was hard to breathe, they took their breaks in the cellars where the air smelled like earth and potatoes, and their sweat would cool off, leaving just goosebumps behind.

It was fine. It was life.  

Harry yawned, pinning his ID onto the front of his apron, and shuffled to where he could see movement in the main kitchen area.

“Morning,” Harry greeted, pausing to warm up and peek inside an oven that was wafting out a heavenly scent of fresh bread. Milo, the baker that had worked the night shift, turned and flashed a tired smile towards Harry. He had flour in his short black hair.

“Good lad,” Milo hummed, eyes watery from the lack of sleep as he untied his apron. With a yawn he patted Harry’s shoulder as he passed. “There’s a piece of bread and beans behind the breakfast croissants. Help yourself.”

With that the baker disappeared from the room, hiding yet another yawn into the crook of his elbow, and Harry was alone again.

*

It was dark out when the shift ended.

Harry had briefly seen the sun climb up through the windows of the castle while he had been working in the dining halls and later when collecting dishes from the first and second floor. Now, however, the daylight was already long gone and turned into the evening.

It was a long shift, as per usual, and Harry could feel it all over his aching body. The job was simple enough; a lot of standing and pretending to be invisible, carrying heavy towers of plates and drinks, hoping for the time to tick by faster. Nothing too special. The biggest hassle on the job wasn’t the actual preparations of the food, it was the part where everything needed to be in the dining halls (7:30 AM sharp) where the Taster would confirm the foods safe to be consumed by the noblemen and the King himself.

Some days they had to wait for hours, keeping the food warm and the drinks fresh, while they waited for the noblemen to wake up and arrive. It was boring and the servers were expected to stand still and stoic by the walls, pretending not to be there. The three piece suits they had to wear while serving were obnoxiously grand, the golden embroideries glimmery and unfortunately itchy. The cream coloured neckcloths were made of softer materials, luckily, though Harry would have preferred if the dress code didn’t make them strangle themselves with the way they had to tie them.       

With a sigh Harry decided to push the thoughts related to work out of his mind; it would all start again tomorrow anyway. He tugged the hood of his coat over his curls and politely nodded to a guard who opened the gates after checking his ID.

The electricity was back on in the suburbs and the streets, the sidewalks glowing with the unnatural blue hue of the neon lights. If Harry walked fast and didn’t spend too much time in the shop buying his evening meal, he could have a few hours of heating and working lightbulbs to enjoy in his sad excuse of a flat.

Harry stepped over a puddle, lifting his mask up to cover his mouth and nose.

He hadn’t noticed it raining during the day but then again he was stuck underground for the most of it. The streets were definitely wet and dark and the clouds hung lower than the usual polluted fog that hid the upper floors of the skyscrapers. A lot of people were still out but everyone walked with their heads ducked.

The city was haunting when it was dark and for the past two years that had been the only time Harry was free to witness it.

With a frustrated huff Harry pushed his annoyingly melancholic and longing thoughts away. First work-thoughts and now this? He didn’t even know what he was after with his longings, it wasn’t like he knew of anything else. It was either this or both him _and_ his mother starving while overworking in the country.

Harry dodged a lavish carriage pulled by four black Friesians, their heavy hooves loud against the wet asphalt. He jogged across the street and turned to a smaller sidewalk where it was less busy and which hopefully would end up being a bit faster route through the city.            

Some fifteen minutes later Harry reached the small corner store he usually stopped by on his way home. It was quite busy but people were in and out fast, the mechanical beeping from ID cards touching against the chip readers was continuous and familiar. Harry joined one of the queues to the product automats and tapped his own ID on.

There were more people coming in, the conversations just a low hum in the small cramped space. Everything and everyone looked dull against the glow of the neon lights and Harry felt just as dull watching it all happen. Every single day, same thing. Harry didn’t know how some of these people still managed to force on a smile.

One after another finished customers disappeared out of the store, no-one clearly too keen on wandering around when it was getting darker.

When Harry’s turn came he let the machine read the preinstalled order from his card. It was just a few products, things that would survive in the small cupboards of his flat even as the temperature went up and down between the day and night. The machine beeped and the mechanism inside it ticked alive. The ID card flashed the receipt of his purchases on the small screen and the number visible on the bottom of the list caused him to grimace.

  
With furrowed brows and lips in a tight line Harry waited the machine to push his groceries out. A light flashed and another beeping chime announced that he could swipe his ID again. The top surface of the machine slid to the side after he did so, allowing him to snatch up the full paper bag.

He moved aside hastily, someone else already taking his place with the automat.

“ _Bullshit_ ,” Harry muttered quietly into his mask as he sulked out of the store, hugging the crinkling bag against his chest. The prices were getting more and more ridiculous, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Gritting his teeth together Harry made his way out of the central zone and back to the suburbs.

It felt like a forever but in reality was only a half an hour later when Harry was finally, with sore muscles and shower-damp hair, settling onto his mattress. He curled under the thick blankets, pulling the layers over his head before the chill of the night had time to cling to him.

For a long while Harry stared into the darkness created by his bed-cocoon, eyes tired and arms aching from carrying and serving dishes the whole day.

The glow of the neon lights always seemed to linger on his vision, still burning against his heavy eyelids even after he was hidden under the duvets. The building around him was quiet, just like it always was, and if he hadn’t seen his neighbours with his own two eyes Harry probably wouldn’t believe he even had any. Only the electricity was a constant, distant buzz inside the walls, and if Harry focused hard enough he could pretend he was hearing the hooves of the horses hitting the tarmac twenty seven floors below.

There was still that heavy feeling sitting inside his chest that had nothing to do with the physicality of the work he endured every day. That feeling was something Harry couldn’t afford to focus on, not now and probably not ever. Things could change fast for the ones living in the close proximity of the Royal castle, but for people like Harry those changes were never for the better.

With a heavy sigh he pressed his cheek against the pillow to block out the feeling, the glowy lights, the uncanny silence... It didn’t help, yet every night he tried.  

The next time Harry blinked his eyes open it was four AM again, pitch black, and the hum of the working electricity was long gone.

*

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you xx  
> -
> 
> To inspire myself to write I posted some photos and visuals for this 'Universe/World' on my blog. If you'd like to check them out, here:  
> http://shyshyserious.tumblr.com 
> 
> (sshyserious@gmail.com)


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